If breast or bottle feeding continues beyond the age of one, it becomes much harder to break the habit later.

Rather than convert to using a bottle, it would be better to encourage the use of a feeding cup although if necessary a little bit of bottle feeding would be okay as an interim measure.

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Your son may well protest about the change to his routine, and of course he is obtaining a great deal of emotional comfort from being at your wife's breast.

But she may be feeling tired and he will almost certainly be causing her some discomfort with his new teeth.

Talk to your health visitor or GP, but really there are two alternative methods:

Either wean him off the breast by reducing one feed a day, then cutting out a second, third, etc over a period of several days.

Or your wife can simply just stop putting him to the breast.

She may experience a little discomfort if her breasts become temporarily engorged, and your son will certainly protest noisily, but this way the problem is overcome in a few days and then it is all over.

Your son will certainly get used to the cup eventually, and no child has ever developed dehydration as a result of mum stopping breastfeeding.

The materials in this web site are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. The web site does not have answers to all problems. Answers to specific problems may not apply to everyone. If you notice medical symptoms or feel ill, you should consult your doctor - for further information see our Terms and conditions.

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